


Peas in a Pod

by Baroness_Blixen



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Baby Fic, F/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, family fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 04:19:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15162503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen
Summary: Jackson babysitting his sister. It's not as easy as he thought it would be.





	Peas in a Pod

He assured them he could do it. He was so certain, too. No problem, he said. None at all. Now Jackson realizes he was wrong. Very, very wrong. How difficult could feeding a child be? It looks so easy. He’s watched both Dana and Mulder feed his baby sister without any fuss. He knows she can throw a tantrum. Oh yes, he knows. But not with him. She likes him. Or so he thought.

“Hey Katie, come on we-” As he brings the spoon closer to her face, she shakes her tiny head vigorously and when Jackson doesn’t stop, she flings her pudgy arms at him. The spoon clatters to the ground, leaving green blobs. The baby giggles and stuffs her hand into her mouth.

“That wasn’t nice,” Jackson says as he crouches down to pick up the spoon. Katie chooses that moment to take the plate in her hands and throw it at him. “Ouch!” The plastic dish hits his temple painfully as the mushy peas land in his hair, on his face and everywhere else. His sister kicks her feet in triumph, claps her messy hands and laughs.

“Why are you doing this to me?” He says, sighing. Katie grins at him.

“Gah!”

“Yeah. I don’t like peas either, but they’re good for you. You eat them when Mulder feeds them to you.” The baby tilts her head and blinks at him. She is cute even when she’s terrorizing him. He can’t deny that Mulder and Dana make cute babies. He’s seen pictures of himself at her age and the resemblance is uncanny. Jackson never thought he’d be so lucky to have a baby sister. He’d always wanted a sibling. Someone he could confide in, who was on his side no matter what. Looking at this tiny human being with a chin like his own, he knows it’s too late for him. But not for her. He can be that for her.

“Not Mulder, huh? You know him as dad.” Jackson looks over his shoulder; he’s been here with them for over a year. Yet he can’t imagine calling them anything but Dana and Mulder. Not out loud, that is. They refer to him as their son all the time. Whether it’s colleagues, friends or strangers, they always introduce him as their son. Showing him off like their proudest achievement. They do the same with Katie. He hasn’t known them that long. Something tells him they haven’t always been like this, though. They’ve saved the world, he’s sure of it, and yet. It’s him and Katie.

“Can we try again?” Jackson asks his sister and she is just quietly glancing at him with her clear blue eyes. Exactly like Dana’s. He picks up a new plate and scoops more mushy peas on it. Katie slaps her hands on the table in front of her, splattering the green goo. He sighs. “Will you eat it if I do?”

“Gah!” That could mean yes, he figures. He picks up a new spoon and digs into the mush. He grimaces. He wasn’t lying when he told Katie he hates peas, too. His sister watches with her eyes and mouth wide open as he puts the spoon into his own mouth. The tepid, surprisingly sweet peas remain on his tongue as he struggles to swallow. Katie doesn’t take her eyes off him so he decides to just do it.

“See? Not too bad.” He picks up her spoon and offers it to her. Katie looks at it, then at him. She’s calm, quiet. That’s a good sign! He smiles at her, hoping to encourage her. The spoon comes closer to her mouth and he’s almost there. As soon as her lips taste the affronting food, she starts spewing and spitting. “Hey, it’s all right. It’s all right, Katie.” Jackson puts the spoon against the plate, green mush dripping lazily onto the table.

“Gno! Bah!” She’s kicking about angrily and still spitting even though the peas are long gone. One of her feet connects with his chin as he tries to calm her down. Her slapping hand hits the side of the plate and it goes flying. Jackson’s hands go up in the air helplessly as peas rain down on him and Katie. He catches the plate before it lands on Katie’s head. He’s as winded as if he’s just been running a marathon.

“Oh Katie.” Jackson sighs, wiping mush off his forehead. He has no idea what he looks like himself, but Katie resembles a tiny, angry wood creature. She stuffs a fist into her mouth, obviously hungry. “What are we doing for lunch now? And the mess?” They’re going to kill him. They’ll never trust him with Katie ever again. The kitchen looks like a battle field and the peas never stood a chance. 

“Bah, bah, bah.”

“I know you’re hungry. But you were supposed to eat the peas.” Carefully, Jackson steps over a green puddle by his feet. He will have to clean it all up before Dana and Mulder return. How do they do this? Day in and day out. Here he thought he could help them, do something for them for a change. He screwed up. Of course he did. Jackson reaches into the cupboard and takes out the baby porridge. He’s seen Mulder give it to Katie on a few occasions making the baby promise not to mention it to her mother. So Jackson figures he can bribe her with that. For once he’s glad she can’t talk yet; this is going to remain their secret.

“Gaaaah!” Katie lets him know and flings some mushy peas at him. When he turns to her, the porridge done, she’s grinning and giggling.

“Very funny, Katie.” Her little arms stretch towards him, trying to get to the bowl. Jackson puts some porridge on a spoon and this time she eats hungrily, without complaint. He sighs in relief.

“Now we just can’t tell mom and dad about this.” Jackson says as she opens her mouth wide for another spoon. While she’s chewing happily, he hears a snicker, a repressed laugh. He turns around, his heart beating a beat too fast, and there they are. Dana and Mulder stand in the doorway, holding each other as if that’s the only thing saving them from completely losing it – one way or the other.

“I can explain.” He begins, stutters. The two seconds of stunned silence are enough for Mulder to erupt in loud laughter. Dana joins in and Jackson watches them in amazement. He’s never seen them like this, never heard their carefree laughter. He looks at Katie, who is still chewing lazily, grinning at their parents.

“Glah!” She lets out a happy squeal and lifts her arms up waiting to be picked up.

“Oh baby.” Dana says and walks towards them.

“Be careful not to slip.” Mulder says, hiccupping with laughter. Jackson wants to warn her that she’ll get peas all over her clothes, but Dana doesn’t care. She takes Katie from her chair and the child cuddles against her. Dana gives her a kiss on her cheek, must taste the mush. All Jackson wants to do is disappear.

“She didn’t make it easy for you, did she?” Dana smiles at him warmly. She reaches out and he flinches, but she doesn’t stop and brushes a strand of hair from his forehead. She is shaking her head, chuckling lightly. “You were the same at that age.” Her voice is soft, full of longing. Jackson stares up at her, unable to reply. He wants to hear this, wishes he remembered living with her, being her baby, but he doesn’t.

“I’ve always hated peas.” Jackson says and she nods. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Mulder start to clean up. He’s still laughing to himself. He knows he should get up and help. After all this is his doing. But he can’t move. Katie leans out of Dana’s arms and puts her hand on his head, patting it. As though she can tell he’s sad, contemplative.

“You must both get that from your fath – from Mulder.” Dana catches her slip and both she and Jackson blush.

“Scully, it’s three against one. I say we ban peas from the house. Right, Katie girl?” The baby giggles as Mulder kisses her nose.

“She eats it when you feed them to her.” Jackson wants to know his secret. Mulder’s smile is conspiratorial and he feels a soft stab inside; he can’t help but wonder what it would have been like had he been with them at Katie’s age. Would Mulder have managed to feed him peas, too? Did Dana give up when he refused to eat them? Jackson swallows, feels sick.

“He mixes it with the porridge,” Dana says and Mulder pretends to be shocked at the reveal of his secret, “and thinks no one notices.”

“Could never keep anything from you.” He kisses her cheek. “You taste like mushy peas, Scully.”

“Gah!” Katie gets another kiss, too.

“Yeah, you taste like peas, too, kiddo.” Then Mulder turns to him. Jackson is too old for this game. Too much of a stranger, too. They’ve missed their chance. That’s what he thinks, anyway, before Mulder leans down and kisses the top of his head.

“We really need to ban the peas, Scully. Our kids deserve better.”

“You’re incorrigible, Mulder.”

“Go take a shower, kid,” Mulder squeezes Jackson’s shoulder and smiles at him, “I’ll clean up down here.”

“But- I really thought I could do this. I didn’t think I-”

“Hey, you did nothing wrong, kid.”

“Nothing at all.” Dana chimes in, still holding Katie in her arms, rocking her back and forth. “Go wash up. Katie here will need a bath, too.”

“Go and take a shower, Jackson. It’s not the first time I have to clean up after Miss Katie. And think about what you want for dinner, too. Nothing with peas!” Mulder laughs about his own joke as Dana rolls her eyes, the smile never leaving her lips. Jackson’s mouth twitches, too, into a shy smile.

This, he reminds himself, is his family.


End file.
